Nintendo 3DS
Take a look inside.” —'Advertisement slogan for the Nintendo 3DS' The Nintendo 3DS is the successor to the Nintendo DS series of handheld consoles produced by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on February 26th, 2011, Europe on March 25th, 2011, the United States on March 27th, 2011, and Australia on March 31st, 2011. The console has a 3D display without the need for glasses (known as autostereoscopy), using parallax barrier technology. The Nintendo 3DS was shown for the public during E3 2010 in Los Angeles, California, coming in metallic colors, its upper screen slightly wider than the bottom touch screen. It costs $169.99 in North America, €169,99 in the Eurozone and £169.99 in the United Kingdom.[4] The 3DS has game cards with a small groove which prevents them from being inserted into an older Nintendo DS. The game boxes are similar in shape but not in size. The prime feature of the handheld is the 3D display, which is shown in the upper screen of 3.5 inches. The Nintendo 3DS also includes a camera on its inner side located at the top of the upper screen and two outside over the lid, giving the 3DS the capability to take 3D photos, merge pictures, record 3D videos, and play augmented reality games (see below). The handheld has added a 3D depth slider, a motion sensor, a gyroscope, and a Circle Pad above the Control Pad. Some buttons were moved, such as Select and Start, now found currently below the bottom touch screen. The power button is now located below the , , , and buttons.The and buttons are kept. The new button, which allows users to directly enter the system's menu, is found between the and buttons. The handheld also is able to find Wireless Connection spots and other Nintendo 3DS consoles automatically for online play.[5] Online expansion also includes achievements, friend lists, sharing game content with friends, and the ability to download new content for games[6] and firmware updates. Unlike its predecessor, the Nintendo 3DS has the ablility to multitask, which can be used by pressing the button. Another feature is the "Tag Mode", in which the handheld detects other nearby 3DS systems automatically even when in sleep mode. The Nintendo 3DS also has a 2 GB SD card included (though users are free to replace it, the DSi with cards with more memory), and a charging dock, instead of a charging cable like the Nintendo DS series uses.[7] Of course, the charging cable can be used with the Nintendo 3DS, and the cable can be disconnected from the dock and plugged directly into the 3DS. The battery duration is in about three to five hours for playing normal software. However, the higher the brightness setting, the more battery power is used. It depends on what software is running on the 3DS. To get full battery with the charger, it takes approximately three hours and thirty minutes. It is backwards compatible with both DS and DSi games, although, as with the DSi, Nintendo DS games cannot make use of extensions that used the original DS's Game Boy Advance slot, which the 3DS lacks. Instead, the hardware comes with a Virtual Console like Wii's to download Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. Also, the Nintendo 3DS has the ability for users to look at some videos of games. It is currently available in five colors: Aqua Blue, Cosmos Black, Flame Red, Ice White and Pearl (Misty) Pink. Other colors like gold, green and purple shown at E3 2010 have been confirmed,[8] although the release dates for these colors are unknown at this time. A Misty Pink version was released in Japan on October 20, 2011, and an Ice White 3DS (bundled with Super Mario 3D Land) was released in Japan on November 3rd. Club Nintendo Japan and European members will have available three exclusive models which are inspired by Mario, Princess Peach and a Super Mushroom.[9] The 3DS received a price drop to $169.99 active August 12th, while early 3DS adopters received 10 NES eShop downloads on August 31st, 2011 and 10 GBA Virtual Console downloads for free on December 16th, 2011 (the latter of which will not be made available to the public).[10] Members of this happening were said to be a part of the Nintendo Ambassador Program |- sizcache="0" sizset="15" |'Predecessor' | sizcache="0" sizset="15"|Nintendo DS[3] |- style="background: powderblue" |'Successor' |None yet |} Category:Consles